Bale reducing apparatus and method of reducing fiber bales

ABSTRACT

A number of bales are opened by passing the fiber removing device over the surfaces of consecutive bales in a reciprocating manner. The bales are fed to the reducing plane at an angle by the supply means so that a continuous opening and blending operation is carried out in a single machine.

United States Patent 1191 Alt et al.

BALE REDUCING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF REDUCING FIBER BALES Inventors:Hans Rudolf Alt, Elgg; Christian .Just; Rudolf Wildbolz, both ofWinterthur, all of Switzerland [73] Assignee: Rieter Machine Works,Ltd., Winterthur, Switzerland Filed: Dec. 7, 1970 Appl No.:l95,454

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 12, 1969 Switzerland..18498/69 u.s. c1. ..-..19/so R, 19/1455 Int. Cl. ..D01g 7/06 Field 6:Search ..i9/8O R, 80 A, 81, 19/1455 References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,636,220 4/1953 Lyall 1.9/80 R 3,736,624 June 5, 1973 3,208,1079/1965 Kotter et al. 19/80 R x 3,389,435 6/1968 Schwab et al 19/80 RFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 61,966 5/1968 Germany. ..19 so R1,267,151 4/1968 Germany 1 1 ..19/s0 R 795 0/1910 Great Britain ..19/8OR 946,333 1/1964 Great Britain ..19/s0 R 95,454 10/1964 ltaly ..19/s1OTHER PUBLICATIONS Japanese Patent Publication 33/7477; Published Augv28, 1958.

Primary Examiner-Dorsey Newton Att0rneyl(enyon & Kenyon Reilly Carr &Chapin [5 7] ABSTRACT A number of bales are opened by passing the fiberremoving device over the surfaces of consecutive bales in areciprocating manner. The bales are fed to the reducing plane at anangle by the supply means so that a continuous opening and blendingoperation is carried out in a single machine.

18 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BALE REDUCING APPARATUS AND METHOD OFREDUCING FIBER BALES This invention relates to a bale reducing apparatusand a method of reducing fiber bales. More Particularly, this inventionrelates to an apparatus and method of opening and blending fiber bales.

For purposes of this specification, the terminology reducing of fiberbales" or removing fibers from the bale" employed herein denote anyoperative steps which diminish the volume of a fiber blade by removingseparate fibers materials of fiber agglomerations from the bale bysubjecting the bale to any action of loosening, opening up and removingof these fibrous materials.

I-Ieretofore, it has been known to open and blend fiber bales by atechnique in which a series of fiber bales consisting of superimposedlayers of fiber materials of different properties have been movedconsecutively towards a grid disposed in a reducing plane. These baleshave then been reduced by fiber reducing devices which penetrate throughthe grid and are movedup and down across the layers. In order to removethe portions covered by the grid bars, the superimposed layerspositioned in the direction of the bale input movement in front of thegrid have required movement to and fro. However, as only one bale can beprocessed at a time using this technique, a blended fiber baleconsisting of layers of the fiber materials of different properties mustbe made up first. The technique has thus not been suited for blending aplurality of fiber bales. Further, this technique has necessitated acomplicated coordination or control of the bale input movement and ofthe reciprocating movement of the bale in front of the grid and of theup and down movement of the reducing device.

Other techniques than that mentioned above have also been known foropening and blending fiber bales. For example, as an alternativetechnique to that above, it has been known to openand reduce the fiberbale by moving a reducing roll horizontally without any need for a grid.However, as above, only one bale can be processed at a time. Further, inorder to prepare blends of a plurality of bales with this technique,layers of different bales must be taken off first and must besuperimposed into a blended fiber bale which can then be reduced.

In another known technique, a fiber bale having layers which consist offiber material of differing properties has been arranged vertically andreduced on its face side by two belts studded with pins whichsimultaneously move up and down. In this technique, again, only one of aplurality of fiber bales supplied can be opened at a time. As above,this necessitates the previous blending and preparing of a bale ofsuperimposed layers.

A disadvantage common to all these known techniques is that while fiberbales are continuously supplied, only one bale is opened at a time,namely, the front bale as viewed in the supply direction, the supplydirection being at a right angle to the reducing plane.

In order to blend fiber material of a plurality of bales, the layers offiber bales to be blended must be superimposed in a complicated processand a new fiber bale must be prepared which subsequently can be reduced.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to permit opening andblending of a plurality of fiber bales.

It is another object of the invention to open and blend a plurality offiber bales in a single operation.

It is another object of the invention to blend fiber materials ofdifferent properties from separate bales during an opening of the bales.

It is another object of the invention to eliminate any need forpreparing a fiber bale of fiber materials of differing properties forsubsequent opening and blending.

It is another object of the invention to reduce the floor space for anopening and blending machine.

Briefly, the invention provides an apparatus and method in which aplurality of fiber bales are opened in the same operation and blendedtogether.

The apparatus includes a fiber removing device which is mounted forreciprocation in a predetermined plane and a supply means for moving aplurality of fiber bales in a supply direction which supply meansincludes a guide which is angularly disposed to the plane of movement ofthe fiber removing device and which extends over a length correspondingto a plurality of consecutively arranged fiber bales for guiding thebales toward the plane of movement of the fiber removing device uponmovement of the bales in the supply direction. The guide is positionedwith respect to the fiber reducing device such that each of the fiberbales has a surface located in a common plane with a correspondingsurface of the other bales. This common plane is further disposed withrespect to the fiber removing device such that the device is able toremove a layer of fiber from each bale upon passing across each bale.

The'method of the invention includes the steps of moving a plurality offiber bales in sequential order in a predetermined supply direction tolocate a surface of each bale in a common reducing; plane which isdisposed in angular relation to the supply direction and of removingfibers from the surface of each bale in the common plane.

In operation, the surfaces of the fiber bales located in the reducingplane can be reduced consecutively or simultaneously by the fiberremoving device which is positively guided in the reducing plane acrossthe bale supply direction over all the bale surfaces located in thereducing plane.

In one embodiment, the fiber bales are supplied consecutively in asupply direction which is inclined to a horizontal reducing plane whilein another embodiment the supply direction is in a horizontal plane andthe reducing plane is inclined to the supply direction.

In order to move the fiber bales in the supply direction, the guide canbe formed as a transporting or supply mechanism, e.g., in the form of afeed lattice onto which fiber bales to be opened are placedconsecutively. In another embodiment the fiber bales can be movedtowards the reducing plane by a movable plate arranged at a right angleto the supply direction and can be guided in the supply direction, e.g.,by rolls. The fiber bales can also be moved in the supply direction on asmooth surface table while the supply movement is effected, e.g., bymeans of an endless transporting belt, feed lattice, transporting chainor similar device acting on the sides of the fiber bales not facing thereducing plane, or, e.g., by means of a supply transporting deviceacting on the back side of the last bale of a row of aligned fiberbales.

In still another embodiment, not only one row of fiber bales, but also aplurality of rows, e.g., two rows of consecutively aligned fiber balescan be removed towards the reducing plane side by side and therereduced. In this way, the blending action can be intensified as anyarrangement of the fiber bales side-by-side and in aligned rows can besupplied.

The fiber material removed from all surfaces located in the reducingplane is further removed from the fiber removing device, e.g.,pneumatically, and transferred to a subsequent machine for furtherprocessing.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description and appended claimstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic side view of a bale reducing apparatusaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic side view of a detail of the balereducing apparatus according to FIG. 1;

' FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic side view of another embodiment of thebale reducing apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic top view of the bale reducing apparatusshown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic side view of a further bale reducingapparatus according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a bale reducing device with an alternative supplymeans according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a single machine frame 1 has a fiber reducing orremoving device or apparatus 2 mounted thereon. The reducing device 2contains a housing 3 which extends over the full width (not shown) ofthe machine frame 1 and is supported via supports 11, 12 which rest viaroll pairs 4, 5 on rails (not shown) so as to move to and frohorizontally along the upper edge 6 of the frame 1 9 (only one beingshown). The device 2 has a fiber removing or reducing roll 7 rotatablymounted on a central axis 7 within the housing 3 so as to be rotated inboth directions of rotation. The roll 7 extends over a width (not shown)somewhat smaller than the width of the housing 3 across the machineframe 1 and has a plurality of fiber removing elements 8 extendingtherefrom. The roll 7 is sized so I that the portion of the roll 7facing the machine frame 1 is guided in a horizontal reducing plane Alocated below the plane determined by the upper edges 6.

The housing 3 also includes a tube 9 which extends over and above thelength of of the reducing roll 7. This tube 9 is provided with a largeslot 10 in the portion facing and extending over the full width of theroll 7 so as to communicate the interior of the tube 9 with the interiorof the housing 3 about the roll 7. The tube 9 is connected on one faceside (not shown) to a flexible duct 13 which in turn, is connected tothe suction side of a fan (not shown). In this way, the interior chamberabout the roll 7 can be evacuated pneumatically.

In order to supply fiber bales to the fiber removing I elements 8 of theroll 7, a supply means in the form of an endless transporting belt 16 islocated in opposition to the reducing plane A below the upper edge 6.This transporting belt 15 is equipped with bale impaling pins 14 toengage the bales and is driven in the direction of arrow B and extendsat an acute angle a with respect to the reducing plane A over a lengthcorresponding to a plurality of fiber bales 16, 17, l8, l9 and movedthereon towards the reducing plane A.

In operation, the fiber bales 16 through 20 are moved in a sequentialorder at periodic intervals in the supply direction B on the upwardlyinclined transporting belt 15 so that the upper surfaces 21, 22, 23, 24and 25 of the fiber bales 16 through 20 are moved into disposition inthe reducing plane A simultaneously. When these bale surfaces 21 through25 reach the plane A, the fiber removing or reducing device 2 moves toand fro in a reciprocating manner over the rails (not shown) so that thefiber removing elements 8 pass into the upper surfaces 21 through 25simultaneously located in the plane A to remove and open a layer offiber material from the respective bales. The roll 7 also throws thefiber material taken off into the housing 3 and into the tube 9 throughwhich the fiber material is evacuated e.g. pneumatically withdrawn undera suction force via the duct 13 by means of the fan (not shown).

The reducing device 2 moves to and fro over the full length of the upperedges 6 returning each time at the ends of the upper edges 6. In FIG. 1,the reducing device is shown moving in the direction of arrow C. Duringthis movement, the roll 7 is driven in the sense indicated by arrow D sothat the elements 8 advancingly dig into the bales from the top as thereducing device 2 progresses and throw the fiber material in thedirection opposite to the direction of movement indicated by arrow C.If, while the reducing device 2 moves in the direction of arrow C, theroll 7 rotates in the opposite sense of arrow D there is the danger thatthe elements 8 take off an unopened layer from the upper side of thefiber bales, which can result in disturbances. In order to ensure anundisturbed transport of the fiber material taken off through the slot10 into the tube 9, the tube 9 is rotatably arranged so that the slot 10can be turned according to the direction of movement prevailing towardsthe portion of the housing 3 onto which the fiber material taken off isthrown by the roll 7. The mounting of the tube 9 within the housing 3for this purpose can be accomplished in any suitable known manner. Atthe points of return of the device 2, that is, at theend points of theupper edges 6, the sense of rotation of the roll 7 is changed so as tocorrespond to the changed sense of movement of the reducing device 2 andthe position of the slot 10 is adapted to the changed sense of rotationof the roll 7 by rotating the tube 9 correspondingly as shown in brokenlines in FIG. 1 in one of the points of return. Corresponding to thechanged direction of movement E, the roll 7 is driven in the sense ofrotation indicated by arrow F and the position of the slot 10 adaptedcorrespondingly.

In order to locate the upper surfaces of the bales 16 through 20 in thereducing plane A, the supply of the bales 16 through 20 can be effectedperiodically. That is, the movement of the bales in the supply directionB occurs when the reducing device 2 has reached one of the points ofreturn and is stopped when the fiber reducing device 2 is moved alongthe reducing plane A. The movement can be activated in this arrangementby a switch 87 operated automatically by the reducing device 2 beforethe next passage in the opposite direction. The length of the movementof the bales can thus be used to determine the thickness of the layer tobe removed.

Since the surface of the roll 17 facing the belt 15 is in the reducingplane A the distance of the surface of the roll 7 facing thetransporting belt 15 to the transporting belt 15 corresponds to thedistance of the reducing plane A to the transporting belt 15. However,by suitably arranging the roll 7, the plane A also can be chosen eitherin the plane of the edges 6 or higher or lower than the upper edges 6 ofthe machine frame 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the transporting belt is supplied with newfiber bales 26 (one bale only being shown) according to the supplymovement. To this end, the new fiber bale 26 is transported and fed intothe bale opener and blender by a transporting belt 27 which extends upto the transporting belt 15. In addition, referring to FIG. 2, a guide29 is located at the point of return of the reducing device 2 on thebale input side of the machine frame 1. This guide 29 is arranged in thedirection of supply of the bale 26 and serves to hold down the uppersurface 28 of the fiber bale 26 as shown. The underside 30 of the guide29 facing the upper surface 28 is placed lower than the tips of thedownwardly directed fiber removing elements 8 so that any danger to theelements 8 extending below the upper edges 6 by the inward movement ofthe fiber bale 26 is avoided. The guide 29 furthermore is equipped witha stop 31 for the rolls 3 of the reducing device 2 and the switch 87.This switch 87, e.g., upon contact with a roll 4, activates viacontroldevices 88 the change of the sense of rotation of the roll 7, of theposition of tube 9 and of the drive direction of the movement of thereducing device 2 into the opposite direction.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a transporting belt 34 equipped withgripping members 33 and driven in the direction indicated by the arrow Gis arranged in a machine frame 32 to extend in the supply directionunder an acute angle 3 with respect to a horizontal reducing plane Hdefined by upper edges 35 of the machine frame 32. The width of thetransporting belt 34 corresponds to the width of a number of rows ofbales, for

I example, two, while the length K of the transporting belt 34corresponds to a plurality of fiber bales 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 forexample 4.2 bales which are moved towards the reducing plane H. In orderto remove the fiber material from these bales, a reducing device 41 ismounted on the machine frame 32. This device 41 comprises a housing 42extending parallel to the upper edges 35 over a length L which exceedsthe length K of the'transporting belt 34 over the machine frame 32. Thehousing 42 is carried by pairs of rollers 43, 44 on guide rails (notshown) along parallel upperedges 45 and 46 horizontally to and fro overthe reduce plane H and across the supply direction G. In addition, thereducing device 41 has a reducing roll 46 rotatably mounted in thehousing 48 to extend over a length exceeding the length K. A tube 48 isalso arranged above the roll 47 and is provided with a slot (not shown)corresponding to the one shown in FIG. 1. This tube 48 extends over thefull length of the roll 47 and is rotatably supported. The roll 47 isrotatable about its center axis 47 by a motor 50 in either sense ofrotation and the same motor 50 also is used for driving the reducing device 41 to and fro. A face side 51 of the tube 48 is connected to aflexible duct 52 which, in turn, is connected to the suction side of afan (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 4, the fiber bales 36 through 40 and fiber bales 53,54, 55, 56 and 57 are moved in side-byside manner while new fiber bales58 and 59 in a double row aretransported by means of a transporting belt60 to the transporting belt 34, correspondingly. Instead of the singletransporting belt 34, two separate transporting belts running inparallel to each other can be provided (not shown).

The operation of the apparatus of FIGS. 3 and 4 is effected in the samemanner as described above with reference to FIG. 1. All fiber bales 36through 40 and 53 through 56 are opened simultaneously by the reducingdevice 41 moving to and fro in the reducing plane H across the balesupply direction G of the fiber bales 36 through 40 and 53 through 56while the fibermaterial taken off is blended.

Referring to FIG. 5, the bale reducing apparatus can alternatively beconstructed with a horizontal transporting belt 61 and guide rails 62(only one being shown) which form 'an acute angle y with thetransporting belt 61 in a transporting direction M. The guide rails 62serve to rollably support a reducing device 63 equipped with a reducingroll 63 which acts in a reducing plane H and which moves to and fro. Thereducing device 63 with the roll 63' corresponds in individual parts tothe reducing devices 2 or 41, respectively shown in FIG. 1 through 4. Inorder to supply fiber bales 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69 consecutively onto thetransporting belt 61, a transportingbelt 64 is used. This belt 64 servesto move the bales one by one where plural rows are used, in sets ontothe transporting belt 61 in the supply direction M which forms an acuteangle 'y with the reducing plane. Continued movement of the bales on thebelt 61 brings the upper surfaces 70, 71, 72, and 73 of the fiber bales65 through 68 into the reducing plane N. As the reducing device 63reciprocates above and across the surfaces 70 73 of the fiber balesplaced on the transporting belt 61, layers of fiber material are removedand opened, and thereafter drawn off in blended manner as above.

The reducing device 63 is driven by a motor 74 connected via a controldevice 75 with a drive mechanism 76 of the transporting belt 61. Thus,not only are the supply movement of the fiber bales 65 through 69 andthe reciprocating movement of the reducing device 63 coordinated butalso a change in the sense of rotation of the reducing roll 63 in theredlucing device 63, the position of the slot inthe tube 9 and, ifdesired, the supply movement at the points of return of the reducingdevice 63, as described above, are synchronized.

Referring to FIG. 6,,wherein like reference characters indicate likeparts as above, instead of using the transporting belts 15, 34 and 61inthe arrangements according to FIGS. 1 through 5, freely rotatablerolls 77 are used for guiding the fiber bales 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82 tobe supplied. The supply movement of the fiber bales 78 through 82 inthis arrangement is effected by means of a supply plate acting againstthe back side of a rearmost fiber bale 84 moving in the supplydirection. Theplate 85 is, in turn, pushed in 'the direction indicatedby the arrow P by a pushing rod 86 connected to a suitable drive (notshown) which is synchronized with respect to the operation of theremainder of the bale reducing apparatus in a known manner.

In a further embodiment, (not shown), the whole arrangement of theapparatus can be chosen such that, for example, referring to FIG. 1, thefiber bales 16 through 20 and 26 are moved along the top surface of atable acting as a transporting plane while the transporting belt 15, thetransporting belt 27 and the reducing device 2 are arranged verticallyabove the transporting table, i.e., vertical with respect tothetransporting plane. By placing the whole arrangement, for example, onan elevated base, enough room is provided for protruding elements,especially of the reducing device 2 in the direction of the floor.Simultaneously, the arrangements described with reference to FIGS. 3through 6 can be disposed and operated in a similar manner.

Referring to FIG. 2 the tube 9 is rotatably carried by rolls 90 arrangedon the outer circumference thereof. The tube 9 is provided with amechanism 91 for turning the slot 10 of tube 9 according to thedirection of movement of fibers prevailing in the housing 3, which isconnected with the control means 89. The switch 87 is connected upon thecontrol device 88 with a motor 92, which is disposed on a roller 92' ofthe belt for driving the latter in the direction of arrow B. A drivingmeans 93 is disposed on one face side of the roll 7 for rotating thereofand a driving means 94 is arranged on one of the rolls 5 for moving thereducing device 2 along the upper edge 6 of the frame 1. The drivingmeans 93 and 94 are also connected to the control means 89 so that thechange of the sense of movements of the respective elements and of theposition of the tube 9 into the opposite direction takes place in switch87 is activated as described above.

it is noted that the range of angles for the angular relationship forthe reducing plane and the supply direction is less than 90 and fallspreferably from 6 to 25.

In the method according to the invention the quantity of fiber materialto be removed, i.e., the thickness of the layer to be taken off can beset precisely by correspondingly choosing the bale transporting speed ofall bales placed on the reducing plane. Also, the production rate, i.e.,the quantity of fiber material taken off per time unit can be preciselyset by correspondingly choosing the speed of movement of the removingdevice. According to the invention a continuous movement of the removingdevice and a periodic interval of supply transport movement of the balescan be used, the latter periodically being activated, e.g., at thereturn point in each reciprocating cycle of the removing device, i.e.,as the removing device movement changes its direction at the end pointof its traversing cycle.

The first blending process of fiber materials of different propertiesthus can be effected during the opening process and material alreadyblended can be supplied to the machine following the opening machine.This has a beneficial influence upon the end product produced from thismaterial.

The invention further eliminates any need of processes for preparing afiber bale of fiber materials of differing properties. Also, theinvention not only allows a simpler design of the opening and blendingapparatus but also permits time savings. A further advantage of theinvention is the simplicity of design in which preferentially only theelements needed for opening fiber bales are used. This latter results inreduced floor space requirements as one single machine can be used for asimultaneous opening and blending operation.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of opening and blending fiber bales comprising the steps ofsimultaneously moving a plurality of fiber bales in sequential order atperiodic intervals in a predetermined supply direction towards a planeextending in acute angular relation with said supply direction andsimultaneously disposing an upper surface of each bale in saidplane;

moving a fiber removing apparatus through said plane in a reciprocatingmanner for removing and opening a layer of fiber material from saidsurface of each bale in said plane and pneumatically withdrawing thefibers removed from each bale under a suction force; and

activating a periodic interval of movement of said fiber bales in saidsupply direction at a rate corresponding to the layer of fibers removedfrom said fiber bales during a positioning of the fiber removingapparatus at a return point in the reciprocating cycle thereof.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fiber removingapparatus is moved horizontally through said plane and the fiber balesare moved in said supply direction inclined with respect to said plane.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fiber bales are movedhorizontally in said supply direction and said fiber removing apparatusis moved through said plane in inclined relation with said supplydirection.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fiber removing apparatusmoves at constant speed.

5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of removing fibersfrom each fiber bale occurs simultaneously on each bale.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of removing fibersfrom each fiber bale occurs in consecutive order on successive fiberbales in said common plane.

7. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fiber bales are movedin said supply direction under a force acting on the back side of saidfiber bales.

8. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein a plurality of fiber balesare arranged side by side and are moved in said supply direction.

9. A method as set forth in claim '1, wherein movement of said fiberbales is stopped during said step of moving said fiber removingapparatus through said plane.

10. A fiber bale reducing apparatus comprising a supply means for movingfiber bales in a supply direction disposed in angular rotation to apredetermined plane, said supply means having a guide disposed below andin acute angular relation to said plane and extending in said supplydirection over a length corresponding to a plurality of consecutivelyarranged fiber bales for guiding said plurality fiber balessimultaneously towards and into said plane upon movement of saidplurality of fiber bales in said supply direction;

means for mounting said supply means for movement at periodic intervalsto periodically advance said plurality of fiber bales in said supplydirection; fiber removing device having means for mounting said fiberremoving device for movement to and fro in said plane over each of saidfiber bales having an upper surface in said plane, said fiber removingdevice including a rotatable roll having fiber removing elementsextending from a surface thereof facing said guide and projecting intosaid plane for removing and opening a layer of fiber material from eachbale having an upper surface in said plane; and control means connectedto said fiber removing device and said supply means for actuating saiddevice and said supply means in synchronism to effect said movement ofsaid supply means at a periodic interval during reversal of said devicein said plane and stopping of said supply means during movement of saiddevice in said plane.

11. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 whereinsaid guide is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane and said fiberremoving device is disposed in a horizontal plane.

12. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 whereinsaid guide is disposed in a horizontal plane and said plane of saidfiber removing device is disposed in angular relation to a horizontalplane. 13. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10wherein said guide is a transporting belt having a plurality of pinsextending therefrom for engaging said bales to move said bales with saidbelt in said supply direction.

14..A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 whereinsaid guideis a plurality of freely rotatable rolls.

15. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 14 whereinsaid supply means further has a movable supply plate for engaging theback side of the rearmost of said plurality of fiber bales to move saidplurality of fiber bales along said rotatable rolls.

16. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 whichfurther includes means for moving said fiber removing devicelongitudinally along the length of said guide.

17. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 whichfurther includes means for moving said fiber removing devicetransversely to the length of said guide.

18. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 whichfurther includes means for selectively rotating said roll in oppositedirections.

1. A method of opening and blending fiber bales comprising the steps of simultaneously moving a plurality of fiber bales in sequential order at periodic intervals in a predetermined supply direction towards a plane extending in acute angular relation with said supply direction and simultaneously disposing an upper surface of each bale in said plane; moving a fiber removing apparatus through said plane in a reciprocating manner for removing and opening a layer of fiber material from said surface of each bale in said plane and pneumatically withdrawing the fibers removed from each bale under a suction force; and activating a periodic interval of movement of said fiber bales in said supply direction at a rate corresponding to the layer of fibers removed from said fiber bales during a positioning of the fiber removing apparatus at a return point in the reciprocating cycle thereof.
 2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fiber removing apparatus is moved horizontally through said plane and the fiber bales are moved in said supply direction inclined with respect to said plane.
 3. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fiber bales are moved horizontally in said supply direction and said fiber removing apparatus is moved through said plane in inclined relation with said supply direction.
 4. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the fiber removing apparatus moves at constant speed.
 5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of removing fibers from each fiber bale occurs simultaneously on each bale.
 6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of removing fibers from each fiber bale occurs in consecutive order on successive fiber bales in said common plane.
 7. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fiber bales are moved in said supply direction under a force acting on the back side of said fiber bales.
 8. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein a plurality of fiber bales are arranged side by side and are moved in said supply direction.
 9. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein movement of said fiber bales is stopped during said step of moving said fiber removing apparatus through said plane.
 10. A fiber bale reducing apparatus comprising a supply means for moving fiber bales in a supply direction disposed in angular rotation to a predetermined plane, said supply means having a guide disposed below and in acute angular relation to said plane and extending in said supply direction over a length corresponding to a plurality of consecutively arranged fiber bales for guiding said plurality fiber bales simultaneously towards and into said plane upon movement of said plurality of fiber bales in said supply direction; means for mounting said supply means for movement at periodic intervals to periodically advance said pluraLity of fiber bales in said supply direction; a fiber removing device having means for mounting said fiber removing device for movement to and fro in said plane over each of said fiber bales having an upper surface in said plane, said fiber removing device including a rotatable roll having fiber removing elements extending from a surface thereof facing said guide and projecting into said plane for removing and opening a layer of fiber material from each bale having an upper surface in said plane; and control means connected to said fiber removing device and said supply means for actuating said device and said supply means in synchronism to effect said movement of said supply means at a periodic interval during reversal of said device in said plane and stopping of said supply means during movement of said device in said plane.
 11. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said guide is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane and said fiber removing device is disposed in a horizontal plane.
 12. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said guide is disposed in a horizontal plane and said plane of said fiber removing device is disposed in angular relation to a horizontal plane.
 13. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said guide is a transporting belt having a plurality of pins extending therefrom for engaging said bales to move said bales with said belt in said supply direction.
 14. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said guide is a plurality of freely rotatable rolls.
 15. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 14 wherein said supply means further has a movable supply plate for engaging the back side of the rearmost of said plurality of fiber bales to move said plurality of fiber bales along said rotatable rolls.
 16. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 which further includes means for moving said fiber removing device longitudinally along the length of said guide.
 17. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 which further includes means for moving said fiber removing device transversely to the length of said guide.
 18. A fiber bale reducing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 which further includes means for selectively rotating said roll in opposite directions. 